PWN'D Support Group

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It's okay. It's going to be okay. The first step is admitting you're a n00b. Once you've done that, you're ready to watch this video. Make sure you're prepped for strong language and adult themes. Because those are awesome. Thanks to HBO for the heads up. They care about your well being (and your kill/death ratio).

Community Spotlight - Death by Mongoose

The art and science behind driving like an idiot.

If you've been going it solo, trying to rack up kills using the trusty Mongoose in Halo 3, it's time to go brokeback. Death by Mongoose is a homegrown group that's ready to teach you how it's done. Hang out tight, and let's go for a ride.

"Death by Mongoose is a group dedicated to the art, and science behind driving around like an idiot and killing someone with a Mongoose. We specialize in helping the less skilled 'goosers become solid splatterers. The Mongoose is a very temperamental vehicle; you can hit someone at full speed, and not even take out their shields. You can just miss to the left or the right, and splatter someone. The Mongoose Gods are picky about whether or not you will kill someone; however, a solid connection helps...

The group’s history: A bunch of people in the Halo 3 forums talking about the Mongoose in a thread. There was a spark, and Major League Goosing was created. As popularity in goosing grew, and we found another group titled 'Death by Mongoose.' After a while the two groups merged into a single group – Death by Mongoose. Chuckles555, and DB5414 were the original 'goosers (OG's if you will) that started Death by Mongoose. Since then I've taken over the role of 'Master Goose Lord,' which is the equivalent of a Master Forum Ninja. I am essentially the x FoMan123 x of Death by Mongoose, without the evil banning sprees."

What are Death by Mongoose's favorite maps?

Valhalla, Standoff, and Sandbox. Valhalla because of the two Mongooses per base, and large area to build up speed. Standoff because it's open, yet you are in partial cover at almost any place in the map. Great driving "lanes" mean great splatter opportunity. Sandbox because it has an open, mongoose laden default layout, and a gazillion forge possibilities. Yes, a gazillion.

And your favorite gametypes?

Territories, VIP, CTF, and Slayer. Territories is a great variant to goose on because it’s kind of nice when people stand still, trying to capture a territory, with a blinking light over their heads saying splatter me. VIP is a gooser favorite because it’s the gametype that we use on Racetracks, and who can honestly say that they don't like racetracks? Capture the flag is a good place to get splatters if your team has trouble scoring the flag. Any time a team is sitting on a flag trying to return it they tend to stand there all nice and still like. We like slayer because it's the most fun gametype in Halo 3 on a Mongoose or not.

What would you like to see injected into Matchmaking?

Personally, I want there to be a full-time Grifball playlist. Other 'goosers think otherwise, so here's some of their opinions:

"I would like to see Valhalla Covies back in BTB and fire bomb grenades. :)" - Mythic v1

"I'd like to see some Standoff more often, as it's great for driving around, and of course ‘goose splattering people. More Territories gametypes would be great too." – A speedy Kitten

"Racetracks added to Action Sack with racetracks that can't be broken/cheated on would be fun". – EliteMuffGoose

"What I would like to see more in matchmaking would be: a racetracks playlist. A weaker weighting on Heavy variants – Tank+Mongoose = :( Also, I want the spawn times of the mongoose to be shorter on sandbox maps, and there to be another goose added on either side of wasteland." -BowlingMongoose

"I would love to see Racetracks in matchmaking. It has been altered and changed so much since its first appearance in custom games. It has become something simple yet an awesome test of skill (in the Mongoose of course) and it is easy to grasp the concept of it. Racetracks would be an awesome thing for matchmaking, and maybe some rocket race in Action Sack instead of its random appearance in multi team." -rraaaaawwwwwwwr

"I think there needs to be Mongooses on Narrows and The Pit. The Pit has lots of good opportunities for Mongoose splatters, like near the overshield spawn. There are lots of places to get splatters on Narrows. Avalanche could use a few more Mongooses as well. Avalanche is one of the biggest maps, yet there is only one goose per side." -i like pie727

Here's a shout out from i like pie727:

"I want to send a shout-out to my cousin who recently joined the Marine Corps, his Gamertag is Gylf117."

I think I speak for everyone in DBM when I say, Thank you Gylf117 and Good luck!
Good luck and Godspeed, indeed. And seems like it's relatively easy to speak for DBM. "More Mongoose!" ;)

Since we've come to the end of our Community Spotlight course this week, we've injected some of the group's file selections into the Winner's Circle, aka Bungie Favorites. Head on over and check 'em out.

Halo 3 in the Work PLace Montage II

"Between attending PAX in Seattle, out-BR'ing the Overshield of the Swine Flu, and his wife giving birth to their 3rd child...PT managed to put this together for the Workplace. A mix of gameplay from members of Halo 3 In The Work PLace. This is not an MLG tryout montage...a montage by the members for the members and the community.

Oh yeah, and if you are ever blessed with meeting PT and he offers you a blue rock as a gift....just refuse it and ...

'Edge of Reason'

Looks like Adam Susskind made it through the holidays and cooked up a new webcomic for you to enjoy. Also looks like this is a one off. Boooooooooooo! You should check it out anyway - especially if you're into series openings that are actually cliffhanger endings. (Sir, finishing this fight...)

"Ho ho ho B.net,

By the time the fine folks at Bungie put this up I imagine we'll all be settling back into our regularly schedules lives as well rested people.

This one page comic is something that came out a while ago, but that I never mentioned because I planned on doing so once the series was in full swing. That won't be happening. The script was decent so I'm writing a book instead.

H3MB's Episode 1 - Redux

Not so much new as it is redo, the Halo 3 Mythbusters are reuploading their episodes in shiny high definition. Episode 1 is embedded below. If you want to go through their upgraded back catalog, hit the jump below.

"Halo 3 Mythbusters is, after a brief hiatus, back as 'Defend the House' and they're coming back with brand new projects as well as some old ones. H3MB's first ever episode is back in glorious HD (and even some new material to go along with it)."

2009's Finest: In Praise of the ODST OST

Insights into game music and the people who create it.

1UP's Jeremy Parish loves him some Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. Total mancrush. Who can blame him? We've all hear the ODST soundtrack. Check out his own heartfelt and bromantic thoughts on the subject after the jump. It's well worth the read. Thanks to HBO for the pass.

Average Joe - Gnome13

Putting things in their proper place.

The first Average Joe of 2010, Gnome13 is ready to settle into our cozy couch, drop all of his personal details, and get some Bungie.net therapy on. Even though it's an egregious violation of the doctor/patient privilege, I'm willing to let you sit in and have a listen. Just keep your heavy breathing to a minimum. Observe:

Q. Who are you and what do you do?

A. I go by Max. Max isn’t short for anything, but I’ve heard a lot of potential suffixes. Most of them are pretty tired, but every now and then I hear a good one.

I am 22 so far, I have a job, I go to school, and ladies, I am single!

I work at a Ford dealership. I am the very prestigious Warehouse Manager. Fancy title is fancy. I don’t actually manage any employees and my paycheck actually says "Shipping and Receiving," but there is a warehouse I manage. Essentially, I’m in charge of making sure everything that comes in via our freight service, UPS, and FedEx gets put in the proper place. My job also includes quite a bit of problem solving. Just today I had to figure out how to fit 200 tires into a space for only 100 tires.

I love my job. Even when there aren’t parts to process, there are people to talk to. There are people of many professions involved in a dealership, and they each have something interesting to talk about. I am never bored.

Besides my job during the day, I go to school. I am studying to get my Bachelor’s in computer science at ITT Tech. I am in their electronic program, and I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than electronics. It is like a playground, and I don’t necessarily mean to say I’m giddy as a school boy for my field of study. There is just such a diversity of toys to make my favorite. First, you learn what each toy does and how it functions. Then, you learn how to combine them.

In my free time, I do laundry. I also love puzzles. My latest accomplishment is solving a 7 layered V-Cube (same principle as a Rubik’s cube but with 7 layers) in less than 30 minutes.

Q. Mind peeling back some more of your personal layers and telling us where you got your tag? Won't take thirty minutes. Promise.

A. Gnome13? Oh jeez…

My Bnet tag comes from a high school friend. I went over to his house one day. His house was like Joe’s Crab Shack, set to a Steven King’s It theme. There were clown dolls and the like lining the walls. His little brother gave me a small garden gnome. What more inspiration do I need, right? The 13 comes from a bit of immaturity that I have long since replaced with a different form of immaturity I like to call creativity.
That’s how I ended with my IRC handle and my gamer tag, Mahcks. Mahcks is actually a common misspelling of my first name. Also, Moks is a common mispronunciation of my gamer tag.

Q. When you're floating around down here, which forums do you make your most frequent haunts?

A. I feel most comfortable on the main forums and groups here on Bnet. Some of the people here are like family. I love the mythic members group. Those guys are a lot of fun.

I like to read all of the main forums. I get a good laugh from the Flood and Halo forums. I love how active they are. Their self healing is inspiring. The Septagon is probably my favorite, though. I don’t know why, really. The people that frequent that place are just easy going and fun to hangout with.

I pretty much live in the #moap and #bungienet IRC channels. It’s another laugh a minute with those guys. It takes a bit of a thick skin for those plain-text punching bags, but you learn to love those people like family after a while.

Q. Do you game with friends and family? What inspires you to play games?

A. I’m pretty lax when I’m playing multiplayer, but not when I’m playing the single player. I get into stories pretty big. I am a huge fan of science fiction, so I can believe just about anything for ten minutes. This gives me plenty of time to determine if a game is going to keep me interested.

The story is one of the most important aspects of a video game and is second only to game play. A story can not get in the way of the game play. At the same time, story can not be sacrificed for game play. If an idea simply can’t be fun and interesting at the same time, don’t push the triangle peg into the square slot.

I like to have fun! Competitive gaming just doesn’t appeal to me. I game with friends almost always. My brother plays with me on occasion, but he’s moved to PC games lately.

There is one guy at work that is a little too into the National Socialist Undead Brainvora for me. Every morning at work he tells me about his games while I smell my coffee.

Q. What was the first Bungie title you played?

A. Halo: CE will forever be the bully that stole my lunch money. I remember my brother and me going to a birthday party at this kid’s house soon after the Xbox’s release. This kid got an Xbox and Halo for his birthday. It was a sleepover, so we spent the early hours of the night playing the Fusion Frenzy demo on Halo: CE, but after everyone went to sleep I booted me some campaign. My brother and I made it halfway through the second level before getting distracted by driving the warthog over hills. The next day we decided we would have Halo. We sold our N64 and saved a bunch of lunch money and allowance to get it.

Since then, my brother and I have had a tradition of playing through each Halo on co-op as soon as it came out. Co-op mode was what made Halo: CE my first virtual crush.

Q. Are you surprised by your crush on the Bungie Community?

A. A little, actually. It has been four years since I first set eyes on the forums on this site. I have been visiting almost everyday since. I can’t think of any habit I’ve kept for that long. I’ve been through so much in the last four years. This community has never abandoned me. I can always relate to the people here expressing their ideas and opinions.

Q. Relate anywhere else online?

A. There have been plenty of other Halo related sites I’ve hung out at, but nothing like my activity on the Bnet forums.

Q. So faithful. We love that. Make some shout outs and play us out.

A. These forums have been a major source of stability in my life. I’ve had some pretty rough patches. You guys are my therapy. I want to thank all of the people involved in this community for putting up with my shenanigans and occasional misguided banter.

I would like to thank all of the people that made PAX this year more than a crazy cool video game nerd hall. DieByMyHand had a great LAN party, and I’m thankful I got to help. Also, I need to thank The Slayer for keeping a watchful eye on me (if you haven’t met him, he looks just like his avatar).

If there was ever a reason for me to have withdrawals from prolonged absence from the internet, it is #moap. You guys rock.

Lastly, I want to thank Bungie. They made Halo, you know.
Everybody knows that. Right? Right?

Thanks to Gnome13 for getting all therapeutic up in this piece. If you want to get something off your chest, we're always here for you, Max. Hell, we'll host a discussion thread for this interview if you still want to talk about it.

'Ice Cream Man' - HMV

KillPie tackles a different kind of dessert with a Halo 3 music video. Dig in.

"Watch to see how a white trash dropout finds a job as an ice cream man. He goes around running over kids in is van and chasing the youngsters that just want some ice cream. It is a very amusing video that will have you laughing before the end. The video was made by KillPie and the song was made by GiftedButTwisted."

WatchThis!Gaming - Top 5 Plays Ep. 4

With brand new commentatin'.

Looks like the crew over at WTG took a long hard look at their perk setup and realized they weren't cut out to classify Halo 3 content. Instead of throwing in the towel, they brought in a supersoldier to get the job done. Like these clips better than the last? Let 'em know at the jump.

'What's Going On?' - Halo 3 Machinima

360Cinema's Top 10 Halo 3 Kills

Episode Uno (that means one.)

360Cinema slapped together their favorite ten Halo 3 plays. Since this is labeled as their inaugural episode, it's safe to assume their off finding more right now. Don't worry too much about the future though. Live in the present and be entertained!

Tag and Release - Chasm Ten

Going down?

ODST was hitting its stride last week as some newcomers dropped into Firefight after Santa dropped down the chimney and delivered some Christmas gaming cheer. I dropped into Chasm Ten and pulled out some tasty screenshots. Whether you're brand new or a seasoned veteran, you should check 'em out. It'll make me happy.

And We're Back!

Bloated, but operational.

After a little network blip this morning, all Bungie systems are back online and fully operational. We missed you. Kinda like one might miss a wart after daubing it with acid for a couple of weeks straight. (Sometimes, they pop right back out.)

To celebrate our triumphant return to online form, check out this video of some Spartans with strangely elongatred asses dancing in a public parade. HBO found it. They're into this fetishist kinda stuff.

The Candy Coated Wonder Road

Neighborly Love.

Gotta sit through some kind of strange Google ad to see the latest offering from DSF, but it's worth it. The consumerific brainwashing is minimal and The Candy Coated Wonder Road will wash the materialistic taste outcha mouth. Give it a lick if you're not easily offended.

Christmastage 2009!

...was a little more than a week ago. Who cares? This is still a pretty cool montage.

"With gameplay by the superduper awesome Stealthy, Tranquility, Dutchy and Klima. This awesome Christmastage is a good way to go out of 2009. With some fresh editing by Klima and Dutchy this one is definitely a must watch. One Love and Merry Christmas Homies."

'Dance Little Liar' - Halo 3 Machinima

At least I think that's a monkey at the opening of the vid. Could be a lesser primate, I guess. Bet it throws it's feces. Regardless, you should watch this comic-like machinima. It's better than hurled monkey poop. I promise.

A Holiday Message

Yeah, so we're a bit late to move in on the Holiday festivities, but hey, it's never to late for a machinima with a heartfelt message. (Though it might be a bit early since I haven't had my coffee.) Before you kick 2009 completely to the curb, check this out.